The Afrovision Managerial Contest

[canvey!!]

Biscotti, can you provide the following details for me:

Manager Name:

Manager Nationality (1):

Manager D.O.B.:

And I will draw you to a club.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Really starting to feel sorry for Mali & Egypt, they have been soooo close everytime...

[Biscotti]

Yarp.

Manager Name: Andreas Werner

Manager Nationality (1): Austrian

Manager D.O.B.: 17/09/1974

[PluckaDuck]

Really starting to feel sorry for Mali & Egypt, they have been soooo close everytime...

12 points from you would help

[Lower Leagues Rule]

12 points from you would help

I think you did get 12 from me this time...in this post If I could've given you 13 you would've got it too...

[BenArsenal]

Yeah, I feel for Mali. And I thought we had it bad...

Hey, how about a pact?

(But, I regularly give you high votes already anyway. )

[MikaelS]

Really starting to feel sorry for Mali & Egypt, they have been soooo close everytime...

yeah it is getting frustrated. We perform well in matches but ppl haven't got the faith in us

[hasdgfas]

yeah it is getting frustrated. We perform well in matches but ppl haven't got the faith in us

I do, neighbor. Keep the faith

[canvey!!]

@Lower Leagues Rule: 13 points wouldn't have cut it for Egypt; Morocco were ahead on the high-pointers given.

@Biscotti: You are now the proud owner of the Burkina Faso team trainer's whistle!

Latest Statistics

Most Points – Semi-Final

 [font=Courier New] 1st SF3 09 iacovone           Benin       104
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd SF1 10 Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      94
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd SF1 09 Northerm Lights    Tanzania     87
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th SF1 09 dafuge             Mozambique   83
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th SF1 10 MikaelS            Mali         82
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF1 10 PluckaDuck         Egypt        82
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th SF3 09 Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      78
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th SF2 09 MikaelS            Mali         73
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF3 11 canvey!!           Morocco      73
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th SF1 09 corinthiano        Madagascar   71[/font]

Most Points – Final

 [font=Courier New] 1st 10 Lower Leagues Rule     Nigeria    208
  [/font][font=Courier New]2nd 09 iacovone               Benin      196
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd 09 MikaelS                Mali       186
  [/font][font=Courier New]4th 09 PaulHartman71          Sudan      181
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th 09 fergysafc              Cameroon   160
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th 10 MikaelS                Mali       156
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th 09 Northerm Lights        Tanzania   151
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th 09 corinthiano            Madagascar 150
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th 10 PluckaDuck             Egypt      142
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th 09 Lower Leagues Rule     Nigeria    141[/font]

Fewest Points – Semi-Final

 [font=Courier New] 1st SF3 10 stoehrst     Zimbabwe  -3
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd SF2 10 Loojay       Ethiopia   0
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd SF2 11 MattFergie   Somalia    1
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th SF3 11 spartans5    Mauritania 2
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th SF2 10 MattFergie   Somalia    5
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SF2 11 tomsmith1989 Botswana   7
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th SF1 10 coldkohmew   Tunisia    8
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF3 10 pompey13     Malawi     8
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th SF3 10 tomsmith1989 Botswana   9
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th SF1 11 weeeman27bob Namibia   10
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF2 11 himan        Zambia    10[/font]

Fewest Points – Final

 [font=Courier New] 1st 11 SJ234             Angola        34
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd 11 gavrenwick        Gambia        45
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd 11 ggrive            Algeria       55
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 11 Mk_Forest         South Africa  55
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th 11 Greasy Chip Butty Guinea        63
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th 11 fergysafc         Cameroon      64
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th 11 chopper99         DR Congo      69
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th 11 hasdgfas          Côte d’Ivoire 74
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th 10 himan             Zambia        76
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th 11 DodgeeD           Congo         77[/font]

Most Points Deducted in One Round

 [font=Courier New] 1st SF3 10 102
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd SF1 11  96
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF2 11  96
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th SF2 10  90
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th  F  10  72
 [/font][font=Courier New]   -  F  11  72
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th SF3 11  66
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th SF1 10  54
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th SF2 09  48
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SF3 09  48
 [/font][font=Courier New]   -  F  09  48[/font]

Most Final Appearances

 [font=Courier New] 1st fergysafc          Cameroon     3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck         Egypt        3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - MikaelS            Mali         3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - dafuge             Mozambique   3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Mk_Forest          South Africa 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - canvey!!           Morocco      3
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th                    7 nations    2[/font]

Most Consecutive Final Appearances

 [font=Courier New] 1st 09 11 fergysafc          Cameroon     3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 09 11 PluckaDuck         Egypt        3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 09 11 MikaelS            Mali         3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 09 11 dafuge             Mozambique   3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 09 11 Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - 09 11 Mk_Forest          South Africa 3
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th                          8 nations    2[/font]

Fewest Final Appearances

[font=Courier New]1st 19 nations 0[/font]

Most Accumulated Points

 [font=Courier New] 1st MikaelS            Mali         638
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      607
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd PluckaDuck         Egypt        556
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th Dafuge             Mozambique   530
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th fergysafc          Cameroon     488
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th PaulHartman71      Sudan        429
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th Northerm Lights    Tanzania     411
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th iacovone           Benin        409
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th Kenco              Gabon        405
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th Mk_Forest          South Africa 379[/font]

Fewest Accumulated Points

 [font=Courier New] 1st dami           Burundi      15
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd MattFergie     Somalia      18
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd NeoAC          Swaziland    55
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th tomsmith1989   Botswana     75
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th bergtaur       Chad         78
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th ggrive         Algeria      80
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th spartans5      Mauritania   83
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th coldkohmew     Tunisia      84
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th Cardiovascular Sierra Leone 85
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th weeeman27bob   Namibia      91[/font]

Most 12-pointers

 [font=Courier New] 1st MikaelS            Mali         14
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule Nigeria      14
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd dafuge             Mozambique   13
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th fergysafc          Cameroon     11
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PaulHartman71      Sudan        11
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th DodgeeD            Congo        10
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Northerm Lights    Tanzania     10
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th PluckaDuck         Egypt         9
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Mk_Forest          South Africa  9
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th hasdgfas           Côte d’Ivoire 7[/font]

[PluckaDuck]

I think you did get 12 from me this time...in this post If I could've given you 13 you would've got it too...

Good spot, my bad

[coldkohmew]

my country still in the list

Try harder Mali BTW...

[Biscotti]

Ah, excellent. I shall be on the next flight to Ouagadougou

Unité-Progrès-Justice!

[el sid]

Well done Morocco! kutgw canvey, hopefully Equatorial Guinea qualify for the finals next season for once

[MikaelS]

this doesn't make sense:

Most Accumulated Points Code:

1st MikaelS Mali 638

We have most points but not a single 1st place

[canvey!!]

A press release from BATRACER:

BATRACER would like to thank all of those involved in this year’s tournament, in Lagos. The tournament was very successful despite an ever-decreasing number of teams, and BATRACER would like to extend congratulations to tournament winners Morocco, and we anticipate a similarly well-run tournament next year in Marrakech.

We regret to reveal that a further six nations have been removed from the Afrovision schedule. Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Madagascar, and Somalia will not feature in the competition for the foreseeable future. This is due to four consecutive non-votes. Further to this, BATRACER is to implement a three-vote rule, where nations who fail to vote three times in succession will be removed from the contest.

With this in mind, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia must all vote in next year’s Semi-Final if they wish to participate in the 2013 tournament.

However, we welcome Burkina Faso back to the tournament, under the management of their new national team coach Andreas Werner. We also have exciting news about the format for next year. With 38 teams, hosts Morocco will get a bye into the Final, as will the team who finish the highest in the FIFA World Rankings. The remaining 36 teams will be divided into two Semi-Finals, rather than the traditional three, and seven teams will qualify from each of these Semi-Finals, making a Final of 16 teams. We have taken this decision to reinvigorate the tournament and provide a more competitive event.

We look forward to another year of African football, and, after that, welcoming our 38 representatives to Marrakech. We wish luck to all 38 of them: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hopefully this means we can get Niger into the final this year, hopefully alongside Nigeria and go for a new winner!

Disappointed to be second in the accumulated points, missing last years semi final doesn't really help

[PluckaDuck]

This will finally be Egypt's year!!!!

[coldkohmew]

to the finals i hope...

[BenArsenal]

Hopefully this means we can get Niger into the final this year, hopefully alongside Nigeria and go for a new winner!

Disappointed to be second in the accumulated points, missing last years semi final doesn't really help

Yes! After coming so close all three times, I think Niger deserves a shot at the Final alongside Nigeria.

We've lost neighbours Benin, Chad and Cameroon though. Time to suck up to the other nations....

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I think Nigeria is going to suggest that anyone giving a 12 to Nigeria, should instead give us 10pts and pass the 12 to Niger

[BenArsenal]

I think Nigeria is going to suggest that anyone giving a 12 to Nigeria, should instead give us 10pts and pass the 12 to Niger

That is so generous. Thanks neighbour!

Everyone should just give Niger 12 and Nigeria 10.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

That is so generous. Thanks neighbour!

Everyone should just give Niger 12 and Nigeria 10.

That would be perfect!

[Whoopy D]

Everyone should just give Niger 12, Nigeria 10 and Djibouti 8.

That would be perfect!

Just needs a tiny alteration

[JB]

It's Rwandas year, I can feel it!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Just needs a tiny alteration

That works as well...

[canvey!!]

2011: August and September

With all the excitement of the third Afrovision Managerial Contest over, the managers of our African nations suddenly remember they are in the middle of qualifying for next year’s Cup of African Nations. As we left them, two nations had booked their place in the Finals, alongside automatic qualifiers Nigeria and Gabon, and they were Tyler Burrows’s Egypt and Dees Blake’s Togo. 12 places remained in next year’s tournament in Gabon.

At the end of September, five of those twelve places had been taken. We’ll look at the games from the month, to see just how that happened.

The biggest win of the month came for Albrt Holstein’s Côte d’Ivoire. They hosted Alex Almond’s Mauritius in Abidjan, and four goals from Salomon Kalou within the first 20 minutes put them 4-0 up. By half time, they led 6-0, by the 89th minute, they led 8-0, and when the final whistle was blown, they had won 10-0. A phenomenal victory that marks the team’s biggest ever win, while for Mauritius, it is the insular nation’s biggest ever defeat. Needless to say, Côte d’Ivoire booked their place in the Finals in Gabon, while their groupmates dafuge’s Mozambique could only draw 1-1 at Ethiopia.

The next biggest win, by comparison, was a boring encounter. It went to Libya, who beat Ryan Andrews’s visiting Swaziland 7-0. Young Partizan Belgrade striker Abdelmalek Hanafi got five of the goals, but it wasn’t enough for Libya to stay in the chase for top spot in their group; that went to Ricky Nakano’s Senegal, who sealed their qualification this month with a 4-1 win at Namibia. Another team winning 4-1 was Mentho Latum’s Tunisia, who beat Cape Verde in Tunis, and they lead their group. They are still being chased by Chip Butty’s Guinea, who won 3-0 at Lesotho this month. Joe Tompkins’s side are bottom, without having scored a single goal.

There were, in fact, plenty of 3-0 wins to go around. Tyler Burrows’s Egypt beat Sudan by that scoreline, while their groupmates Liberia and Guinea-Bissau fought out a four-goal draw. Matt Lepino’s South Africa won 3-0 in Chad, and so pulling away from second-placed Malawi who lost to Equatorial Guinea this month. Andreas Werner got his career off to a good start as Burkina Faso beat Eritrea 3-0 in Asmara, and Benin beat David Dodgson’s Congo by that scoreline too. Mikael Schøler’s Mali got their three-goal win in Seychelles, and that puts them into next year’s tournament despite the valiant win of groupmates Kenya over Zimbabwe. Thelonius Davis’s Tanzania beat Somalia 3-0, but it is Morocco who qualify from Group B, after Didier Dardon’s Afrovision winners won 3-1 in Zambia.

The other side to have qualified this month was Craig Hopper’s DR Congo. They had an away match at second-placed Angola, and won 2-0, enough to put them through in first place. Meanwhile, Dami’s Burundi could only draw 1-1 at home to Madagascar. Cameroon, Ghana, and Algeria matched DR Congo’s victory in their own groups, as they all won 2-0.

At the moment, the top-ranked side, and therefore the side that will automatically qualify for the Final of next year’s Afrovision Managerial Contest Final, is Ricky Nakano’s Senegal. They climbed eight places this month to 17th, but are only three ahead of Albert Holstein’s 20th-placed Côte d’Ivoire, who are then just a place above Mali. This month’s biggest climbers are The Green Beret’s Equatorial Guinea, who beat Malawi 2-1 this month. They climbed 47 places to 111th, while Thelonius Davis’s Tanzania moved up 21 to 128th, and Jose Rodriguez’s Uganda climbed 20 to 68th. Algeria also did well, climbing 16. Other than Chad, who fell 18, Kleen Shavern’s Gambia were our biggest losers this moving, falling 17 after not playing. They now sit 131st. Cardio Hernandes’s Sierra Leone moved out of the top hundred with a 14-place drop to 108th, and Christina Modoglou’s Zambia moved down 13 to 85th. Rwanda, Namibia, Lesotho, and Mauritius all fell ten places or more.

[font=Courier New]  [b]Nation            P W D L GF GA  GD[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Algeria           1 1 0 0  2  0 + 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Angola            1 0 0 1  0  2 - 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Burkina Faso      1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Burundi           1 0 1 0  1  1   0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Cape Verde        1 0 0 1  1  4 - 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Comoros           1 0 0 1  0  2 - 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Congo             1 0 0 1  0  3 - 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]DR Congo          1 1 0 0  2  0 + 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Egypt             1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Equatorial Guinea 1 1 0 0  2  1 + 1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Eritrea           1 0 0 1  0  3 - 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Guinea            1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Côte d’Ivoire     1 1 0 0 10  0 +10
 [/font][font=Courier New]Lesotho           1 0 0 1  0  3 – 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Liberia           1 0 1 0  2  2   0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mali              1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mauritius         1 0 0 1  0 10 -10
 [/font][font=Courier New]Morocco           1 1 0 0  3  1 + 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mozambique        1 0 1 0  1  1   0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Namibia           1 0 0 1  1  4 – 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Niger             1 0 0 1  0  2 – 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Rwanda            1 0 0 1  0  1 – 1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Senegal           1 1 0 0  4  1 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Seychelles        1 0 0 1  0  3 – 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sierra Leone      1 0 0 1  0  2 – 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]South Africa      1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sudan             1 0 0 1  0  3 – 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Swaziland         1 0 0 1  0  7 – 7
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tanzania          1 1 0 0  3  0 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Togo              1 1 0 0  3  1 + 2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tunisia           1 1 0 0  4  1 + 3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Uganda            1 1 0 0  1  0 + 1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Zambia            1 0 0 1  1  3 - 2

 [b]No Games:[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Mauritania, Nigeria[/font]

Pharoah ‘nuff - Nation in the Spotlight

Name: Arab Republic of Egypt

Capital: Cairo

Population: 80.0m

Manager: Tyler Burrows (PluckaDuck)

World Ranking: 44

Stadium Capacity: 74,100

Last Three Results: A vs. Sudan, 3-0; A vs. Ecuador, 1-0; H vs. Liberia, 2-0

[NeoAC]

7-0? Jeez, I...I have nothing, no explanation for that.

[coldkohmew]

looks like a long road ahead...

[hasdgfas]

10-0 win

[glennuk]

I am probably too late but if not i would love to join

[el sid]

Went up 47 places in the world rankings

[canvey!!]

2011: October and November

October was both a beginning and an end; Cup of African Nations qualifying finished, and World Cup qualifying began. Some of the managers of our African nations were involved in both.

One such manager is Ryan Andrews. His Swaziland team finished their Cup of African Nations qualifying as they had played throughout; losing. They lost 1-3 at home to Senegal. But Andrews atoned for this in the World Cup First Qualifying Round, against Whoopy Dee’e’s Djibouti. The teams drew 1-1 in Djibouti, and Swaziland won 5-1 at home. The other World Cup tie involving two Afrovision competitors saw Quandiose Yancy’s Eritrea meet Super Lampard’s Seychelles. Eritrea won 2-0 in Asmara, and Seychelles could only win 1-0 in their home match, so their World Cup campaign ended 1-2. Earlier in the month, Lampard’s side lost 0-4 to Zimbabwe.

The other World Cup ties saw Alex Almond’s Mauritius beating Somalia, winning 3-1 at home and triumphing after a narrow 2-3 loss away. This made up for their 0-5 loss to Mozambique earlier in the month, which made a 0-15 aggregate in the insular nation’s final two Cup of African Nations qualifying games. Tom Hamilton joined Whoopy Dee’e as an Afrovision manager out of the World Cup already; Comoros beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at home but lost 1-6 away. Earlier, they had drawn 2-2 with Uganda, picking up their only point of qualifying. In the fifth World Cup tie, the Central African Republic beat São Tomé and Príncipe 4-1.

Seven places remained in January’s Cup of African Nations. Two of those went to teams from Group D. Mentho Latum’s Tunisia concluded their campaign with a 2-0 win away to Lesotho, and so topped the group. Chip Butty’s Guinea, who won 1-0 at Karl Unpingco’s Cape Verde, finished as the best second-placed team out of all fourteen, and so travel to Gabon next year. Cameroon took another place, beating Jose Rodriguez’s Uganda, Jack Browne’s Rwanda, and, of course, Tom Hamilton’s Comoros.

Matt Lepino ’s South Africa will also be in Gabon, after they ended Malawi’s hopes with a 2-0 win over the southeast African nation in Mmabatho. Meanwhile, The Green Beret’s Equatorial Guinea beat Chad 4-1, but they only finish third. GG Donovan’s Algeria sneaked through, picking up 13 points, while the second-placed team Ghana took 12, and third-placed Sierra Leone scooped 10. Algeria’s final-day win was similarly subtle; they beat Ghana 1-0, while Sierra Leone won by that same scoreline at Ben Cee’s Niger. Joining GG Donovan as a fairly new manager in the tournament, Andreas Werner’s Burkina Faso beat Kleen Shavern’s Gambia 2-1 and so booked their place in Gabon. The final place went to Benin, who edged out David Dodgson’s Congo and Lawrence Lazewski’s Mauritania.

The biggest wins of the month went to teams who had already qualified. Didier Dardon’s Morocco and Tyler Burrows’s Egypt, as well as dafuge’s aforementioned Mozambique, who haven’t qualified, won 5-0, over Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritius, respectively. Craig Hopper’s DR Congo thumped their opponents Madagascar 7-1. But it was Albert Holstein’s Côte d’Ivoire who did best, continuing their fine form with a 9-0 win over Ethiopia. Didier Drogba got himself on the scoresheet five times, including once in each period of stoppage time.

The draw has been made for the tournament, which takes place in January and February 2011. Des Tiny’s holders Nigeria face a difficult group, alongside Cameroon and Senegal. Andreas Werner faces a tough test in his début tournament, as his Burkina Faso team are also in that group. Ken Co’s Gabon, meanwhile, who are hosts, will also find it difficult to beat Albert Holstein’s Côte d’Ivoire, who are in fine form. Matt Lepino’s South Africa and GG Donovan’s Algeria will not be easy to beat either. The tough groups continue into Group C, where Didier Dardon’s Afrovision winners play last year’s second-place team, Tyler Burrows’s Egypt, consistent top three finisher, Mikael Schøler’s Mali, and the début winner, Benin. And it looks like Group D is the easy one, but all these teams have been doing very well. Craig Hopper’s DR Congo in particular are on a high, while Dees Blake’s Togo were among the first to qualify. Mentho Latum’s Tunisia and Chip Butty’s Guinea also offer a challenge.

Three Afrovision nations have already run out of chances to get good results before next year’s tournament, in Marrakech. The others have the Cup of African Nations and more World Cup qualifying with which to prove themselves.

[font=Courier New]  [b]Nation            P W D L F A GD[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Comoros           3 1 1 1 5 8 -3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Djibouti          3 1 1 1 3 6 -3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mauritius         3 1 0 2 5 9 -4
 [/font][font=Courier New]Seychelles        3 1 0 2 1 6 -5
 [/font][font=Courier New]Swaziland         3 1 1 1 7 5 +2

 [/font][font=Courier New]Eritrea           2 1 0 1 2 1 +1

 [/font][font=Courier New]Algeria           1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Angola            1 0 1 0 0 0  0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Burkina Faso      1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Burundi           1 0 1 0 0 0  0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Cape Verde        1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Côte d’Ivoire     1 1 0 0 9 0 +9
 [/font][font=Courier New]DR Congo          1 1 0 0 7 1 +6
 [/font][font=Courier New]Egypt             1 1 0 0 5 0 +5
 [/font][font=Courier New]Equatorial Guinea 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
 [/font][font=Courier New]Gambia            1 0 0 1 1 2 -1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Guinea            1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Lesotho           1 0 0 1 0 2 -2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Liberia           1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mali              1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mauritania        1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Morocco           1 1 0 0 5 0 +5
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mozambique        1 1 0 0 5 0 +5
 [/font][font=Courier New]Namibia           1 0 1 0 2 2  0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Niger             1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Rwanda            1 0 0 1 0 2 -2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Senegal           1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sierra Leone      1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 [/font][font=Courier New]South Africa      1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sudan             1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tanzania          1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tunisia           1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 [/font][font=Courier New]Uganda            1 0 1 0 2 2  0
 [/font][font=Courier New]Zambia            1 0 0 1 0 2 -2

 [b]No Games:[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Togo[/font]

Nation in the Spotlight

Name: Republic of Niger

Capital: Niamey

Population: 15.3m

Manager: Ben Cee (BenArsenal)

World Ranking: 203

Stadium Capacity: 30,000

Last Three Results: H vs. Sierra Leone, 0-1; H vs. Ghana, 0-2; A vs. Algeria, 2-5

[hasdgfas]

and now a 9-0 win! Let's hope I can keep it up.

[Biscotti]

4 solid months for Burkina Faso

[Dees-Blake]

Togo to make their first ever finals appearance?

[coldkohmew]

top my group!

[PaulHartman71]

I'm not on here very often anymore so by still being in this I'm probably causing you a bit of inconvenience canvey!!, so if taking me out of it will help you out then by all means go for it.

[chopper99]

DR Congo on a roll. Bring on the finals.

[hamilton162]

Out of World Cup Qualifying already On the plus side, we did manage our first win

[canvey!!]

Sorry about the lack of updates, everyone. Things have been really busy for me lately, and I've not had the time to write any. I'm moving today, and then hopefully can get something done for over the weekend.

[canvey!!]

Writer's Notes: Sorry for the big delay - I've not been well lately, but have started treatment today and finally felt up to writing an update. I'm still only going to be able to write updates if and when I feel up to it, but that should happen a bit more frequently now. Unlike last time, I'm going to do two matches per update, because that makes it less daunting for me.

2012 Cup of African Nations

We’re in Gabon for the Cup of African Nations. In three weeks’ time, two African nations will contest the Final here, and hopefully, one of the Afrovision managers will walk away with the trophy. We’ll provide coverage of every match, with sixteen updates of two matches per update. Two nations with managers different to their original ones start the tournament;

January 21st: Senegal 1-0 Burkina Faso

Ricky Nakano’s Senegal definitely had the better start in this match, getting their first shot of the game after a minute and twenty seconds, and pounding on the Burkinabe defence in the opening minutes. After a quarter of an hour, however, Burkina Faso did fashion chances of their own, but first blood went to Senegal, who scored in the 24th minute when Malick Faye was let through by a backpedalling Burkinabe defence. The 24-year-old fired the ball home to net his first goal for Senegal. He very nearly got his second minutes later, but for a good save by Burkina Faso ‘keeper Mohamed Kaboré. For the most part, the teams were camped out in the Burkinabe half for the rest of the game, but Senegal couldn’t really fashion any decent chances, with plenty of shots from long range, while Kaboré put in a good effort to deal with some of the better speculative ones. When they got their breaks, Burkina Faso were similarly ineffectual, and that first-half goal was enough to settle things.

Man of the Match: Mamadou Niang, FW, Senegal (7.5)

  Group A
 # Nation       P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 Senegal      1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  3
 2 Cameroon     0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
   Nigeria      0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
 4 Burkina Faso 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1  0

January 22nd: Algeria 1-3 South Africa

This match started brightly, with Algeria hammering at South Africa’s door, and the South Africans having plenty of incisive chances of their own. In the 34th minute, the South African defence was finally breached, when Algeria’s Kamel Ghilas found himself on the edge of the area with the ball. Defenders and keeper both rushed him, but Ghilas chipped the ball over the approaching Moeneeb Josephs and into the net. Algeria continued to create chances, but, just as they thought they would enter half-time in the lead, the North Africans’ leftback Hamid Benzerga gave away a penalty for a foul on South Africa’s Bryce Moon. Benni McCarthy converted the spot kick. Despite this, the second half started rather nondescriptly, with both sides equally strong. Algeria’s Mehdi Lacen had a long-rang shot bounce off the post in the 63rd minute, and Mohamed Seguer made a long run only to fluff his chance eight minutes later. South Africa punished Algeria for this wastefulness, when Lerato Chabangu pounced on Bryce Moon’s cross in the 80th minute. All hopes of an Algerian comeback were dashed when, five minutes later, Daine Klate found himself free with the ball in the area, and chipped the ball over Algerian ‘keeper Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche to net his début goal.

Man of the Match: Bryce Moon, MR, South Africa (7.6)

  Group B
 # Nation        P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 South Africa  1 1 0 0 3 1 +2  3
 2 Gabon         0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
   Côte d’Ivoire 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
 4 Algeria       1 0 0 1 1 3 -2  0

Next time, we kick off the other two groups!

[Biscotti]

Group A was always going to be a really tough test for us, so I'm not at all disappointed with losing the opener by only a single goal.

[NeoAC]

Hope the treatment goes well Canvey.

Swaziland actually won a game? It's a bloody miracle!

[coldkohmew]

hoping for a good result.

[BenArsenal]

Take care mate. Get well soon.

[canvey!!]

Thanks, all.

2012 Cup of African Nations

We’re back in Gabon, where Groups C and D are about to begin!

January 22nd: Morocco 1-0 Benin

In this match between the 2011 Champions and the 2009 ones, Morocco had the slightly better start. That said, however, Benin did well to snuff out the first of the Moroccan attacks, but their defence didn’t last too long; forward Adil Chihi put his country in front from close range in the 19th minute. The quality chances of the rest of the first half were almost exclusively Benin’s, but they couldn’t score. They did keep up the pressure after the restart, but the crossbar came to Morocco’s aid on several occasions, while Didier Dardon’s nation’s own chances came mostly from range. Talismanic forward Marouane Chamakh was stretchered off for Morocco in the 70th minute, but the Beninese pressure began to ease towards the end of the match, as the will to win seemed to evaporate.

Man of the Match: Mickaël Chrétien, MR, Morocco (7.5)

  Group C
 # Nation  P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 Morocco 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  3
 2 Egypt   0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
   Mali    0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
 4 Benin   1 0 0 1 0 1 -1  0

January 22nd: Tunisia 3-0 Togo

Mentho Latum’s Tunisia seemed to have perfected the start to a football match; they took just five minutes to go in front through Amine Chermiti, who squeezed the ball in from close range. They continued to press, and were rewarded 18 minutes later, when left winger Yassine Chikhaoui headed home from a corner. Togolese hopes took another blow when, towards the end of the half, Chermiti scored a second goal in a similar fashion to his first, when he was left dangerously close to goal. Togo had a small spell of pressure at the start of the second half, but the chances they created weren’t particularly good, and Tunisia felt comfortable enough to ride out the game for the victory, which they did.

Man of the Match: Amine Chermiti, ST, Tunisia (8.6)

  Group D
 # Nation   P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 Tunisia  1 1 0 0 3 0 +3  3
 2 DR Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
   Guinea   0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0
 4 Togo     1 0 0 1 0 3 -3  0

Next time, both holders Nigeria and hosts Gabon get their campaigns off to a start.

[el sid]

Dont we (Equatorial Guinea) qualify as joint hosts or something?

[BenArsenal]

Just realised we were the nation in the spotlight the last round.

[canvey!!]

@el sid: Unfortunately for you, while Equatorial Guinea are co-hosts in real life, in the game, Gabon host the tournament exclusively. That seems to be to the tournament's detriment, as some of these games have attendances of seven to eight hundred!

2012 Cup of African Nations

Back in Gabon, the hosts are kicking off their Cup of African Nations campaign, and Nigeria begin their quest to defend the title.

January 23rd: Cameroon 3-1 Nigeria

The game started level enough, and it was only right that a moment of pure brilliance got the scoring started. Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o received the ball on the right-hand side, proceeding to run it to the byline, before approaching the goal and weaving through the backpedalling Nigerian defence to send the ball home off Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. This opened the game up for Cameroon to take full advantage, with Eto’o himself having a powerful shot palmed over the bar in the 23rd minute. Nigeria did get a better footing as the half went on, with Kala Uche three times missing opportunities to level the game.

Cameroon punished Uche for this, as Eto’o slammed the ball home after a well-worked move straight from the second-half kick off. Nigeria had only touched the ball once in the half by that point, and were 0-2 down. Cameroon definitely had the better of the second half, defending well even when they couldn’t craft decent chances. Nigeria’s goal came in the 82nd minute, with Yakubu scoring a simple and well-executed goal against the run of play. It took just five minutes, however, for the Cameroonians to recover their two-goal lead, as young defender Nicolas N’Koulou capitalised on the penalty area fray after a corner to send the ball home for his first international goal.

Man of the Match: Samuel Eto’o, ST, Cameroon (8.4)

  Group A
 # Nation       P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 Cameroon     1 1 0 0 3 1 +2  3
 2 Senegal      1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  3
 3 Burkina Faso 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1  0
 4 Nigeria      1 0 0 1 1 3 -2  0

January 23rd: Côte d’Ivoire 3-0 Gabon

Gabon had the first chance in this match, in the second minute, when Thierry Issiemou’s long-range shot almost weaved its way into the net. The fact that it didn’t, however, came back to haunt Gabon, as Albert Holstein’s Côte d’Ivoire worked their way upfield and scored, with Salomon Kalou’s cross entering the goal unwittingly. Côte d’Ivoire hammered at the Gabonese door for the rest of the half, without fruition. Even a Gabon corner in first half stoppage time would have resulted in a Yaya Touré shot if not for some defensive backpedalling.

At the start of the second half, Gabon were the ones with the ball in the net, but the goal from Catilina Aubameyang, who had been the Gabonese top performer up to that point, was disallowed for offside. Referee Pape Sarr and his assistant made a tough but correct decision. Not too long after, it was the Ivorians celebrating, and there was no dampener on this one; Kader Keita, receiving the ball just outside the D and well onside, struck a sweet shot that found its target and put Gabon 0-2 down. Côte d’Ivoire continued to call the shots and fashion chances, but the final nail in the coffin for Ken Co’s Gabon came in the 74th Minute, when Salomon Kalou got his second goal from the spot, having been fouled by Gabon’s Moïse Apanga. Gabon them came up with a brilliant resurgence, with the woodwork coming to their opponents’ rescue on two occasions late on. With that and with several other shots going astray, however, they didn’t really stand a chance.

Man of the Match: Salomon Kalou, MR, Côte d’Ivoire (8.5)

  Group B
 # Nation        P W D L F A GD Pts
 1 Côte d’Ivoire 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3  3
 2 South Africa  1 1 0 0 3 1 +2  3
 3 Algeria       1 0 0 1 1 3 -2  0
 4 Gabon         1 0 0 1 0 3 -3  0

That was an exciting pair of games. We’ll hope for more when we return to Gabon.

[el sid]

oh, well Thanks for letting me know